Commissioner Starkey reports and events
What the county recorded
This item is not from the published agenda
It is a stretch of the recording that this archive identified as a separate matter — a call to order, a recess, or something taken up that the agenda does not list. There is no official title, no staff recommendation and no disposition, because the county never recorded one. Everything below is inferred.
The source document
The county’s agenda for Board of County Commissioners, Oct 21, 2025
The published PDF, as served by the county. This item is one entry in it.
The county’s minutes for Board of County Commissioners, Oct 21, 2025
The published PDF, as served by the county. This item is one entry in it.
What was said
Machine transcription of 14m of recording, with speaker names inferred from voice matching. 86% of 63 lines carry a name. It shows what was said, not what was decided, and both the words and the names can be wrong.
Okay. Um I attended the USF Women in Leadership Conference in at um USF. My gosh, that were you there? Were you at that that was I mean, how many women were there? Five million? I don't know. That's probably the biggest event I've ever been to in Tampa. Um it was packed in uh And um Uh our speaker was very interesting. Gina Davis was our keynote speaker during lunchtime. I won't tell
you what I did while she was talking, but she Um, you know, she started a film festival in Bettonville, which was very interesting. So I looked that up, gave me some ideas. Um I'll bring those to you at another time. That's my rabbit brain working. We had the 12th uh AM Skills Annual Awards dinner. Thank you, Commissioner Mariano. You were so so uh passionate jumping up there on that stage. Um We had um a full house. And um we had the Natsack
uh David Engel speaking there. Is he here? Um I think at uh the next meeting I'll have David and Derek come um show you the award that uh Ampskills won, an international award that Derek picked up for us. Um then uh let's see what else should I say about that? The um
the the speakers, the stories,
yeah
uh the people there that were just showing appreciation F uh Peter Brasansky from from way back when still there. Loving loving what we've been doing over these years to help people get jobs.
Yeah. Um one of our speakers was the president of NIMS, which is the national instrument and metal I don't remember what the S is. Um, but they're they're uh an agency that um gives out uh credentials so it's industry recognized credentials for uh the people who go through our programs. Um the other speaker was a former Bucks player Frank Murphy, um who uh Gus Bilarakis met at the White House. Um so he is uh
very connected with the White House and um throughout the country uh working on Um workforce. issues and education issues for I think people who have some challenges in life that like he overcame some. Um so he has his own nonprofit and he and uh and I have his book in my car. Um, very powerful speaker. Where was he from? Was he from the southern United States? I don't remember, but he's in jail twice in his life. And and people gave him some second chances and he took
those second chances and made something out of it and was drafted and played.
I just had to like talk a little bit and I would thank you for all the great work you did to bring Mskills in and and all and all the All the lives you've changed with that program.
Yeah, it was uh we showed some videos of people who who um are employed in different businesses around the the Tampa Bay area and it was very impactful I think. Um so I also attended the empowerment uh grand opening. Um I am really glad to that we have that room and uh the artwork is absolutely amazing. And um I want to figure out how to get the the bird that's taking off in the water. Um that was an amazing photograph. Um Look
at that. So this is Lily and I got her card. Yeah. Um I think she goes to my church. Yeah,
Lily and Kakuza? Yeah. She has Out of Our Hands gallery. She's
Yeah. So she's donating she's donating this artwork uh to both galleries. And she told me um The bird uh uh it's not one of these ones right here, but the photo of the um I have the uh what's the bird with the red wings the um Sandhill crane? No. Red water bird or a cardinal? No. No, no, it was big a big water bird. Not a sandhill crane. Flamingo? No, it's not a flamingo. Oh gosh. I can't remember the name of it. But it has red on its wings. Um
It um she said she was the way she took her picture is interesting. She's sitting in the water. And um And she was standing so she could get an at water shot, like a horizontal shot. And she said, maybe it was a sandhill crane. Or a
heron or something.
Or it's not in any of these. It's it's a big picture all on its own. They unveiled it during I have a picture of it somewhere. Um that um That The bird she said she's learned that the bird poops and then takes off. So she sits there and and she saw she saw the bird doing its thing and started clicking and she has an amazing picture of a bird taking off in the water. I I'm gonna get I'm gonna buy a copy of that. So um but I'm I'm very glad that we have that and and we keep um our people safe. Um
I had my Harbor's well you had the jail tour photos there. I'm sorry I wasn't able to. I am uh going through a very stressful thing with my family. and um it's a dual citizenship thing. And I had it a I got word the night before that I had to get up at five in the morning and drive to Miami for a twelve o'clock appointment at the Spanish consulate. So Um that's why I wasn't on the jail tour and why I wasn't at the um Troy County meeting, but I did I worked the whole way down, I did I did
listen. Um So thank you for my staff for going on that tour and I hope I can have one one day. Um Commissioner, I did um I did listen to Commissioner Oakley's talking about 54 and 41. I'm one of the commissioners he called. He said he contacted one of the other commissioners. I don't know who it was. Huh?
It wasn't me.
No, well he contacted me and I said, Well, I'm so glad you're experiencing our pain. And when we're when we're working together at at our TMA meeting, this is why we really insisted that we get fifty-four and forty-one. Remember it wasn't on the the priority list at one time?
If you remember him, uh he and Janet Long made the motion second to get that on the list.
Yeah, yeah. So he got to experience I think we have a uh a true uh true helper. Um he had told me that on the he had gone to Tallahassee to talk to one of the committee meetings on um term limits for commissioners, I think it was. And um and also districts, commissioner districts. So I guess they're looking at whether commissioners should be Districts only or elected countywide. There so we maybe we want to follow that, I don't know. Um But he stopped to see Chris Latvala in Gainesville
and said that Chris um is doing much better. Um we almost lost him there. They actually had a plane come from Chance to pick him up and fly him back to Chance. And uh but he's he's doing better, but he's not out of the woods yet. But so that's in our prayer. So going back to the HC H S L C Oh no, that's n that's not it. No, no, it's a water bird. That's um it's some kind of heron or whatever. Um I'm gonna I'll pull it up. Uh
this is my Harbor South Leadership Council meeting. Um We had Metropolitan Ministries speak over here. We had the Parks Department. The the under sheriff and code I say enforcement, but she says something different. Um great. Huh? Yeah, yeah, but yeah, yeah, yeah. I want them forcement.
And um thank you to all the staff that came out and um participated in that meeting went very well. Um Then tourist development updates. Florida Sports Coast probably welcomed the Lynn Lewis Foundation for their pink October games. which is a women's flag football tournament dedicating dedicated to supporting breast cancer awareness that is at Wiregrass Ranch. Um We have the Tampa Bay Super Cup coming up. It's Florida Sports Coast three weekends. Juniors
on 24th through 26th. The boys will be October 31st, November 2nd. The girls November 14th through 16th. And this is a soccer tournament. So this is a big one. They are all all over the county uh during the soccer uh tournament. Remind you, there is a 5K, a 10K, and a fun walk run. um at Starkey Market on January 17th for uh John Hopkins All Children's. Um then uh
This is something I want to discuss with us. I listened to the Planning Commission meeting. Um I don't remember if this was in a workshop or during the meeting and I thought John Moody came up with a pretty good idea. And if you remember when we were talking with our fellow with our le I know uh uh with our legislators about the cost of us building sidewalks or roads when we have to deal with um either uh Davis Bacon or
just the way our bid process is. If you heard at our workshop When I mentioned uh we wanted to put some um slow speed signs in the water in Gulf Harbors. And my doc guy could do it for six hundred dollars a pole or something, and the county bid was ten thousand dollars. Ridiculous. Ridiculous. So Um apparently in Pinellas County. When they're builders, or developers are coming in and doing a project If they can't
build the sidewalk right there for whatever reason They have 'em build it somewhere else that's on the the counties um list of important projects to get done. And so they can build them much cheaper than we can. So I thought this was a really good idea. and that we should explore figuring out How we can have our development community, instead of giving us money,
And then we pay for it. Our money doesn't go as far. Let's figure out how we can use their money to build our network out quicker.
Can I bring up something makes
sense?
Yeah.
It's sidewalk later. I meant to bring it up. I sent it to the Mike, I sent you an email with David Allen this morning about the sidewalks. On um Fairwinds and Colony. And from what I All right. The sidewalk wasn't built. I was out there, I took pictures and I showed it to you guys one time as we were coming in as far as like there was no drainage there, was no sidewalk there either. And it looks like they're just gonna pay us eighty four thousand dollars to put the sidewalk in instead. Did you get a chance to review that? Okay.
All right, we'll deal with that next week. Commissioner O did. You did? Okay. Yeah. And and um
Yes. That's it. Rosie this boom bill.
Engineering group is is looking at um a couple of different options for building the sidewalk. I don't know that they have a schedule set yet, but they've already done some preliminary cost estimates and part of that. work was gonna be bundled with um additional road improvements as well. On colony.
Okay. So
w so we're not taking the money. They're still gonna build it.
No. We're gonna take the money and then and then and then we have we have a larger uh county project um along the roadway that then we'll also build the sidewalk and apply those funds to.
When we I think when we pay someone else to do a sidewalk, we pay more. Maybe it's l I'd love to know. When we build it ourselves, maybe we pay less, but I think we need to explore this.
Let l let's uh at least make sure, David, if you would, let's go see what the final costs really are. to what that sidewalk is and if that eighty four is the number number, so be it. But if it's not It shouldn't be coming out of our transportation funds.
And and I'm talking about roads too. I mean
Wherever we can push that off, let someone else build it and it's cheaper. than us going out to bid for something. I think we should do it. Until they fix that because
Madam Chair, we frequently do have developers build and
I know.
Roads and sidewalks. The the the issue is they usually want to build the roads and sidewalks near their project.
You were there at the meeting.
Yeah. They don't usually want to build roads and sidewalks that don't benefit them. I mean they they don't want to build roads and sidewalks on the
other side
of the
county because
they don't benefit them.
But if they have to give us money towards one? Uh because they can't do it for whatever reason. And I don't
know what the reason would be. I get I get your point, but they're mobilized at their site. Like th there's a reason they want to build the sidewalks and roads near their site because they're already mobilized there anyway. No, I they're not gonna want to mobilize ten miles away to build a sidewalk.
But they d didn't they say in Penallas County they have them do that?
Actually staff said the opposite. The Pinellas County's not doing that. That's what they said at Planning Commission. But we can We can look at that. I'm just saying most developers are not gonna want to Mobilize their contractors ten miles away to
build something. And how about this? If someone has paid in money to us instead of building a sidewalk. Why don't we say to a developer if they're in a certain area where I know it takes a little more work. If they're in a certain area where we want to sidewalk, hey, we'll give you the money and you extend it that we got from this other developer. I'm just trying to avoid us going to bed and paying more.
Okay. Well there's lots of MPDs we're approving on your agenda. We're we're doing that very thing where we're
We're taking money from one another one and adding to it.
Or we give them credits to extend a sidewalk or credits to extend a road. I mean this is we do this every day of the week.
Yeah, I've had conversations with developers and their attorneys as well, leveraging them to build our infrastructure gets it done quicker, usually cheaper as well. So we Every opportunity we have, we do take advantage of that.